SDSU set to name Sterk as athletic director

San Diego State is set to announce Jim Sterk, currently the athletic director at Washington State, as its new athletic director.

SDSU President Stephen Weber told university staff Friday that the search has concluded, and the new AD would be announced Monday morning.

“After reviewing a number of excellent candidates, one person has emerged with exceptional qualifications to be our next AD,” Weber told staff in an e-mail.

The San Diego Union-Tribune confirmed with sources that Sterk is scheduled to arrive in San Diego in time for Monday’s announcement.

Sterk didn’t return a call seeking comment. SDSU declined comment.

His candidacy was kept secret throughout the process, likely because as a sitting athletic director at another school, he did not want to risk his name being mentioned as a candidate for another job until and unless he was assured of getting hired.

Sterk, 53, did not go through the search process the same way as other candidates, who applied to SDSU and were selected by a 10-member campus committee.

The committee had given Weber three other names to consider after working on the search since previous AD Jeff Schemmel resigned amid scandal in November. Those candidates were: UCLA Senior Associate Athletic Director Ross Bjork, Michigan Senior Associate Athletic Director Joe Parker and University of Massachusetts AD John McCutcheon, who withdrew from the search earlier this week. Bjork, 37, and Parker, 45, were informed they were not selected on Friday.

It came as a surprise to many involved in the search, particularly the committee, whose candidates were not even brought to campus for final-stage interviews, as had been planned. Parker even had travel reservations to come to San Diego this week for final-stage interviews but was told Friday SDSU had made its decision.

Those close to the situation said committee members also were told by the SDSU administration that their phone records would be reviewed in an effort to find who “leaked” the names of their three candidates to the Union-Tribune.

It’s not clear why Sterk would leave WSU, where he’s been AD since 2000. He’s a Washington native and graduate of Western Washington University.

Things weren’t going his way with the football program, which is 3-22 since he hired coach Paul Wulff. WSU also faces financial resource challenges in the Pac-10 Conference even though Sterk has helped increase support, from $3 million in gifts and pledges in 2000 to over $8 million in 2008.

Sterk hit a winning combination with his hiring of the father-son basketball coach combo of Dick and Tony Bennett in 2003. Tony Bennett succeeded his father as head coach after three seasons and went 69-33 in three seasons in charge. But he left for the job at Virginia last March.